Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1981 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals by the score of 26–21 to win their first Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1988 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 20–16, winning their third Super Bowl. The game was played on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held at the Orange Bowl.
Corey James Dillon is an American former football running back who played for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots. Dillon played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft.
Archie Mason Griffin is an American former football running back who played for seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, he is considered one of the greatest college football players of all time. Griffin won four Big Ten Conference titles with the Buckeyes and was the first player ever to start in four Rose Bowls. He also played professionally for the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League (USFL).
Burudi Ali Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL draft.
Keith Alan Byars is an American sports broadcaster and former professional football player. He played as a fullback and tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets. He was selected in the first round by the Eagles in the 1986 NFL draft. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Eddie Lee Brown is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1985–1991. He played college football at the University of Miami.
Lorenzo LaVonne Neal is an American former football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. Neal played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL draft. A four-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, he was also a member of the New York Jets, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tennessee Titans, the Cincinnati Bengals, the San Diego Chargers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders. Considered one of the best blocking fullbacks in NFL history, Neal blocked for a 1,000-plus-yard running back in eleven straight seasons from 1997 to 2007.
In National Football League (NFL) lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played on January 10, 1982, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and televised by NBC, with announcers Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen. The game, won by the Bengals, 27–7, was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill. Air temperature was −9 °F (−23 °C), but the wind chill, factoring in a sustained wind of 27 miles per hour (43 km/h), was reported as −59 °F (−51 °C) under the calculation method then in use.
James Robert Brooks is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football played for the Auburn Tigers. He played for four teams in the NFL, earning all four of his Pro Bowl selections with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Epic in Miami was the National Football League AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins that took place on January 2, 1982 in the Miami Orange Bowl. The game, won by the Chargers in overtime, 41–38, is one of the most famous in National Football League lore because of the enormity of scoring, the conditions on the field, the performances of players on both teams, and the numerous records that were set.
The 2006 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 39th overall, and the fourth under head coach Marvin Lewis. It began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, defending their AFC North Division Championship title, and progress further through the playoffs than they made in the 2005 season having lost to Pittsburgh in the 1st round after losing star quarterback Carson Palmer to injury on the second play of the game. However, the team failed to improve on their 11–5 record to finish at 8–8 and missing the playoffs just the year after they made it to the playoffs.
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football franchise in the National Football League. Since starting off as an expansion franchise in the American Football League in 1968, they have appeared in three Super Bowls, but lost all three times, twice to the San Francisco 49ers and once to the Los Angeles Rams.
The 1988 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 21st year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League (NFL).
Rex Burkhead is a former American football running back. He played college football at Nebraska and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL draft. After four seasons with the Bengals, Burkhead spent his next four seasons with the New England Patriots, where he appeared in consecutive Super Bowls and won Super Bowl LIII. Burkhead joined the Houston Texans in 2021, spending two seasons with them before retiring in 2024.
Kyle Patrick Juszczyk is an American football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Harvard Crimson, and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft.
Ezekiel Elijah Elliott, nicknamed "Zeke", is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning second-team All-American honors in 2015. Elliott was selected by the Cowboys fourth overall in the 2016 NFL draft. In eight seasons in the NFL, he was a three-time Pro Bowl, two-time All-Pro selection, and led the league in rushing yards in 2016 and 2018.
Joseph Tyler Mixon is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Mixon played college football at Oklahoma, where he was a first-team All-Big 12, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Curtis Samuel is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, winning the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship and earning All-American honors in 2016. Samuel was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft and played four seasons with them and three seasons with the Washington Commanders before joining the Bills in 2024.
J'Kaylin Dobbins is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 55th pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
